How Many First Aiders Does My School or Nursery Need?

As an employer or school leader, you know it’s your legal responsibility to ensure health and safety measures are in place for your team and for the children in your care. One of the most essential elements of this is first aid provision.

But how do you know how many first aiders you need? Or which first aid course is the right level of training for your school, nursery, or early years setting?

While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, Help! First Aid Training is here to guide you through what to consider when planning first aid cover for your setting.

Start with a First Aid Risk Assessment

When it comes to planning your first aid training needs, it’s all about evaluating your setting, identifying potential risks, and ensuring you have procedures and trained staff in place to respond to any incident or emergency.

Here are some important areas to consider:

Key Factors to Help You Assess First Aid Cover

Building and Site Layout
Do you have staff working across multiple classrooms, buildings, or even different campuses? You’ll need to ensure adequate first aid coverage across all sites, during all operational hours.

Accident History
Review your accident log.

·       What types of incidents have occurred?

·       Could those risks be reduced?

·       How frequently do accidents happen?

This can help inform the level and type of first aid training your staff might need.

Out-of-Hours Activities
Do you run breakfast clubs, after-school activities, or evening events? Make sure there’s qualified first aid cover for all sessions when children or staff are present.

Visitors and Events
During assemblies, school plays, sports days, or open evenings, your duty of care extends to parents, visitors, and volunteers. This means first aid provision must cover these occasions, too.

Staff Absences and Leave
Holidays, training days, sickness, and staff meetings can all affect your first aid rota. Always ensure you have sufficient backup to maintain cover, even when key team members are away.

Playground Duty and Lunch Time
Remember to consider your lunch time supervisors for first aid training. They are present during lunch time and also on duty out in the playground.

School Trips and Residentials
When taking children off-site, ensure trained staff are part of the group. And don’t forget — those remaining on-site still need adequate first aid provision while others are away.

What to Do Next

Review Your Risk Assessments
These are a great starting point for deciding how many first aiders your setting needs, and what level of training is appropriate.

Speak with Your Senior Leadership Team
First aid cover should be signed off and supported by your SLT or governing body, as part of your overall health and safety planning.

Create a First Aid Rota
Organise a simple rota to track when and where your trained first aiders are available. This helps you stay covered if someone is off-site and ensures every area of your school or nursery is always supported.

Which First Aid Course Do We Need?

At Help! First Aid Training, we typically recommend the following for schools, nurseries, and early years providers:

Paediatric First Aid (Ofsted compliant)
This is a must-have if you care for babies and young children and is OFSTED compliant. It covers vital skills like child and infant CPR, choking, anaphylaxis, and more. https://helpfirstaidtraining.co.uk/courses/paediatric-first-aid-12-hours

First Aid at Work (3 Days)
This comprehensive course provides in-depth training and practical skills needed by a first aider in the modern workplace. https://helpfirstaidtraining.co.uk/courses/first-aid-at-work

Emergency First Aid at Work (1 Day)
This 1-day course covers the practical skill needed to handle an emergency situation. https://helpfirstaidtraining.co.uk/courses/emergency-first-aid-at-work

Remember — you have a duty of care to both children and staff, so it's best to have a mix of qualifications across your team.

Book Your Paediatric First Aid Training in County Durham

At Help! First Aid Training, we deliver high-quality Paediatric First Aid courses from our training centre in Shildon, County Durham, and offer on-site training across the North-East for academies, academy trusts, nurseries, schools, and childminding teams.

Whether you’re a parent, carer, or childcare professional, our expert trainers are here to make sure you leave feeling confident and capable — and maybe even enjoy yourself along the way!

We cover Newcastle to Newton Aycliffe, Darlington to Durham, Middlesbrough to Murton and everywhere in between.

🌐 Website: www.helpfirstaidtraining.co.uk

📧 Email: info@helpfirstaidtraining.co.uk

📞 Call us: 01388 417303
 
 

Additional Resources:

You can also visit the Health and Safety Executive for more guidance:
🔗 www.hse.gov.uk